BonnerSprings.com

The city of Edwardsville will soon be moving up a notch on the totem pole of Kansas classification designations for cities.

The City Council and city staff have begun discussions on making Edwardsville a city of the second class in accordance with Kansas Annotated Statues Chapter 14, up from its current standing as a city of the third class in accordance with KSA Chapter 15.

City Administrator Michael Webb said he brought the change to the attention of the Council at the May 26 meeting in an effort to make sure the city is "ahead of the game" when the next city election rolls around in April 2009.

"We don't want to be at the last minute trying to address these issues," he said. "It will give us time to get situated and resolved so we know what is going to happen."

The election is an important milestone because under the provisions of Chapter 14, a city of the second class can establish a ward system. Instead of electing five Council members from anywhere in the city, the new system would require that two Council members be elected from each of the four wards of the city.

When a city reaches a population of 5,000, Kansas requires that city to change its class status. Webb said the last population estimate for Edwardsville was about 4,600 to 4,700 people two years ago.

"So by now, we're just at (5,000) or slightly above," he said.

The change will be a two-step process. First the Council will have to adopt a resolution changing the class status, which will then be sent to the Governor's Office. The governor then has to approve the resolution and issue a public proclamation of the change.

The second step gives Council members the option to adopt charter ordinances exempting the city from certain provisions of Chapter 14. These ordinances allow the city to keep meeting, appointment and election regulations the same as before the classification change.

"It's a kind of a recognition that you've grown up into a new classification, a new level of a city," Webb said. "It'll put us at par with cities like Bonner Springs."

Webb will recommend that Council members adopt a charter amendment so that the city does not move into a ward system. He said he would like to see the current system remain, which includes five Council members and the mayor.

He also said that he would like a charter amendment that would keep the city treasurer position an appointed position rather than an elected one, which is one provision of Chapter 14.

Another change Webb would like to see is to not require an engineer's estimate of every project the city undertakes. Under Chapter 14, Webb said an engineer's estimate is required on every project, even small ones such as fixing a curb, and a contract could not be awarded if it goes over the engineer's estimate by any amount.

"As long as they don't consider it a uniform ordinance," Webb said referring to provisions that are required by every city of the second class, "we can adopt charter amendments to change them."

In an effort to get prepared as well as some additional advice, Webb has been talking with the city attorney of De Soto. That city went through its classification change last year, and Webb said he hoped to learn about any roadblocks De Soto may have faced in the process.

One idea he got from the discussions was to make appointed terms indefinite in length. He said instead of having to reappoint someone every year, a person, especially a department head, would not have to worry about his or her job standing every year. The person could be removed at any time, but Webb said this protects their job from the "political fluctuations."

"It'll judge more the quality of someone's work," he said, "which sounds like a good change."

Council members received information packets at the last meeting concerning the provisions of a city of the second class, so Webb said either a resolution or at least a discussion would be put on the agenda for the June 9 meeting.

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